Fastener-inserting machine



4' July 30, 1929. s.-- L. GOOKlN v1,722,286

FASTENER INSERTING MACHINE Filed Sept. 12. 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet l I July 30, 1929. s, GQOKIN I 1,722,286

FASTE'INER INSERTING MACHINE Filed Sept. 12, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 3 (q) 100. AFI/Z8 g'fi- 1 110 MW Mm Wvawma Patented July 30, 1929.

UNITED snares M 1,722,286 ea'ranr orrics.

SYLVESTER L. GOOKIN, OF QUINCY, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR 'I O UNITED SHOE, MACHINERY CORPORATION, OF PATERSON, NEW JERSEY, CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

FASTENER-INSERTING MACHINE.

Application filed September 12,1927, Serial No. 219,108, and in Great Britain March 4, 1927..

This invention relates to fastener-inserting machines and is herein illustrated as embodied in a machine for inserting, for ex ample, eyelets having non-circular barrels.

In eyeleting machines designed to insert eyelets successively at high speed the eyelets are supplied to the inserting tools by a race-- way, one of the inserting tools having a spindle arranged to enter the barrel of an eyelet in the delivery end of the raceway to pick the eyelet therefrom. When noncircular eyelets are inserted in a shoe upper it is required that they shall all be positioned in the same relation to the adjacent edges of the shoe upper. Thus, when each eyelet, as in the example herewith illustrated, is formed with a barrel having one or more flat sides the eyelets should all be inserted so that one flat side of each will be parallel to the adjacent edge of the upper over which the lacing is to extend, but it is to be understood that the invention hereinafter described is not limited to the type of eyelet shown.

In eyelet-inserting machines provided with automatic work-feeding mechanism and with a raceway for presenting the eyelets to one of the setting tools the raceway usually extends substantially at right angles to the direction of work-feeding movement. Consequently, when such a machine is used to inserteyelets having so-called oval barrels, as shown, the raceway maintains the major diameter of the barrel of each eyelet substan- 0 tially at right angles to the direction of workfeeding movement, and it thereforebecomes necessary to turn each eyelet substantially ninety degrees about its axis before it is inserted into the work so that its flat sides and the major diameter of the barrel will lie parallel to the lacing edge of the upper.

In eyelet-inserting machines heretofore fitted to deal with this problem of turning non-circular eyelets the turning movement has occurred after disengaging each eyelet from the raceway.- In one former type of machine the problem has been solved by turning the tool that takes theeyelets from the raceway, but this requires additional mechanism to furnish the turning movement. In another formertype of machine the tool that takes the eyelets has no turning movement but its spindle is so shaped that the eyelet, in sliding down thereon, is turned relatively thereto. The turning effect thus produced is dependent upon gravitation of the eyelet and 1s thereforeuncertain, particularly when operating at high speed, since the eyelet sometimes sticks and at other times is not fully turned when forced against the work.

In View of the conditions above described an object of this invention is to provideimproved means for turningnon-circular fasteners to a predetermined position, and in accordance with this object the desired turnmg is elfccted by the conjoint actions :of a fastener-inserting tool and a raceway while the'fasteneris in contact with, and under control of, the raceway. Another feature of the invention consists 1n a fastener-inserting tool having an improved type of spindle for picking from a raceway fasteners having barrels of elon-.

gated cross-section and. for furnishing a force to'turn the fasteners while the latter are engaged with the raceway. -As shown,

the entering end of the spindle is tapered in such a way as to offsetthetip thereoffrom the median longitudinal line of the body portion, so that the tip, on entering a barrel of the cross-section mentioned, will occupy the most advantageous positionas a pivot about which the fastener may turn.

According to still another feature of the invention, the raceway is arranged to pre-- sent a fastener to the aforesaid spindle with the fastener rotatively out of register with the cross-sectional shape of the body portion of the spindle, and the spindle and the raceway are relatively moved, first, to insert the tapered end of the spindle into the fastener located at the delivery end of the raceway, and then to turn the impaled fastener positively to a position in which the cross-seci tional shapes of the fastener barrel and the body of the spindle are in register with each other. This relative movement comprises a component lengthwise of the spindle to insert the latter into the barrel of 'thefas tener and a component transverse to the spindle to turn the fastener into register with the crosssection of the body of the spindle, before the fastener isdisengaged from the raceway; Thus, the control over the fastener, as well as the fastener itself, .is transferred from the raceway to the spindle before the raceway relinquishes its control over the fastener, and

since the body of the spindle is shaped to in-a relation corresponding to that of Fig. 4.

1 representing a specimen of work performed by said machine;

r Figs. 3, 4; and o are top plan views iepie senting successive stages of operation of the delivery end of the raceway and the lower eyelet-inserting tool to which the eyelets are delivered by the raceway;

Fig. 6 is a perspective View of the parts included in Figs. '3, 4: and 5, the direction of the view being substantially the same as that of Fig. 1, and

Fig. 7 is a vertical section including a portion of the lower fastenerunserting tool and a portion of the delivery end of the raceway The general organization of the illustrated machine is substantially the same as that more fully shown and described in United States Letters Patent 1,228,? 68 granted June 5,

1917, on application of P. R. Glass with the exception of certain differences herein speci- The frame 10 of the machine is provided with bearings for a horizontal operating shaft 12, one of which bearings is indicated at 14. The front part of the frame. 10 is provided with stationary bearings 16 for a vertical plunger 18 which carries at its upper end an eyelet-inserting tool 20. This tool is specially designed to insert eyelets having); noncircular barrels but the plunger 18 is arranged and'operated as described in said Letters Patem- ,A split sleeve 22 is tightly clamped to theplunger and is provided with a block 24 which is. pivotally connected thereto. The

; block 24 is straddled and engaged by an'op crating lever 26 having a forked construction I at its forward end. The rear end of the lever 26 is-formed and arranged to be actuated by a crank (not shown) on the operating shaft 12, the'construction being the same as that shown in said Letters Patent to produce relatively slow motion of the plunger 18 through the initial stages of its upward stroke, relatively rapid motion during the final stages of the upward-stroke, relatively rapid motion vduring the initial stages of the. downward stroke,and relatively slow motion during the final stages of the downward stroke. During the relatively slow motion in the initial stages ofthe upward stroke of the'pl'un'ger the tool 20 picks an eyelet from the raceway, as hereinafter described.

The raceway 28, although not shown in its entirety, is arranged to turn about a vertical axis indicated by broken line 30 in Fig. 1, a stem formed on the framework of the raceway being journaled in a boss 32 formed on the main frame 10. The raceway is inclined and is provided at its upper end with a hopper (not shown) and with well-known mechanism for feeding eyelets flange down from the hopper into the raceway. The eyelets are delivered in this position to the tool 20.

The mechanism for oscillating the raceway about the vertical axis 30 differs from that disclosed in said Letters Patent and will therefore be described herein, the essential difference being in the timing of its motions, the better to coordinate said motions with those of the plunger 18, so that the problem of transferring the eyelets from the raceway to the inserting tool 20 and of'turning the eyelets about their axes incidentally to such transfer shall be solved as satisfactorily as possible. Instead of utilizing a crank, as shown in said Letters Patent, to operate the raceway, the operating shaft 12 is provided with two cooperative cams 34 and 36 which act, respectively, on two laterally offset arms 38 and 40 of a forked lever suspended from a horizontal pivot 12. The cams 34 and 36 are coordinated to maintain contact continuously with the arms 38 and 40. A. link a l is connected to the lower end of the arm 38 by a universal joint 46 of the ball-and-socket type. The forward end'of the link 44. is connected to an arm l8 of a bell-crank lever by a universal joint of the articulated type, the eonstruction comprising an intermediate block 50, a pivot 52 connecting said block and said saidarm as. The bell-crank lever is arranged to be oscillated about a vertical axis, its ends being mounted on trunnions one of which is indicated at 56. An arm 58 formed on the bell-crank lever is connected to the framework of the raceway by two pivots 60 and 62 and a connecting link 64-.

The machine also comprises a stationary horizontal work table 66, a punch clock 68 link, and a pivot 54 connecting said block and embedded therein, a combined punch and clenching tool 7 O the pilot or punching portion 7 2 of which cooperates first with the punch block in the usual manner to punch an eyelet-receiving hole in the work, and thereafter feeds the work fromzright to left to locate the punched hole in register with the insorting tool 20, and finally enters the barrel of the ingoing eyelet to guide the barrel to the clenching surface of-the tool 70. V V

The punching and clenching tool 70 is aflixed to a vertically movable plunger 74: arranged toslide in bearings 76 formed in a horizontally movable'feed carriage '78. Ver- 'tical reciprocation is imparted to the plunger 7 4 by mechanism like that more fully shown and describedin said Letters Patent. So far as said mechanism isillustrated in Fig.

1 it comprises toggle members of which there are two pairs, and links connecting them with an operating bar, one of said links being indicated at 82.

The feed carriage 78 is arranged to slide on a stationary, horizontal rod 84: and is provided with a rod 86 arranged to slide in bear ings 88 formed on the main frame 10. The mechanism for reciprocating the feed carriage, so far as'it is shown in Fig. 1, comprises a lever 90, the construction of this mechanism being the same as that of the corresponding mechanism shown in said Letters Patent. The machine is also provided with a presser foot 92, mechanism for operating it, and an edge gage 94, to all intents and purposes the same as the corresponding elements more fully disclosed in said Letters Patent.

Referring to Fig. 7, the plunger 18 is tubular and the eyelet-inserting tool 20 is ranged in the herd of said plunger and secured therein by a screw-threaded nipple 96. To prevent the tool 20 from turning relatively to the plunger 18 the former is provider with a key 98 and the latter with a vertical notch 100 to receive said key. A spline (not shown) prevents turning movement of the plunger 18. A sleeve 102 is arranged in the bore of the plunger 18 to support the tool 20 and is vertically adjustable relatively to the plunger to regulate the pressure with which the tool 20 cooperates with the tool 70 to clench the eyelets. Adjustment of the sleeve 102 for this purpose is efiiected by a screw 104 arranged to abut the lower end of the sleeve, the lower portion of the plunger being provided with an internal screw-thread to cooperate with the adjusting screw.

The tool 20 is provided with a springpressed spindle the body portion of which, indicated at 106, is of non-circular crcss section conforming to that of the barrels of the eyelets to be inserted. The two flat faces of the body portion 106 are maintained parallel to the lines of work-feeding movement by corresponding formation of the hole in the tool 20. This spindle has a tapered portion 108 at its upper end to facilitate its entrance into the eyelets and to facilitate the turning of the eyelets as hereinafter explained. The lower end of the spindle 106 is provided with a head 110 which is normally maintained against the lower end of the member 20 by a compression spring 112 arranged in the sleeve 102. This spring permits the spindle to yield relatively to the member 20 in the event that the normal operation is prevented through any cause such, for example, as a deformed eyelet in the raceway or an obstruction in the barrel of the eyelet.

' Fig. 2 shows a portion 11% of a shoe upper in which a series of non-circular eyelets have been inserted to illustrate a specimen of work to be performed. The edge 116 of the upper is one of the two edges across which the shoe lacing is to extend. The type of eyelet shown by the drawings is but one of various types having non-circular barrels. As shown in Fig. 2, the eyelets have flanges 118 and flat-sided oval barrels 120. When eyeleting shoe uppers with eyelets the barrels of which have one or more fiat sides, as in the illustrated example, it is usually preferred to insert such eyelets so that a flat side of each barrel will be parallel. to the edge 116 to provide a straight bearing for a fiat shoe lace. This condition creates a problem in automatic eyelet-inserting ,inachines, since'the eyelets are supplied in such machines. by raceways arranged to extend, substantially at right angles to the direction in which the work is fed. It thus follows that when, as in the illustrated machine, the raceway is used to conduct eyelets having oval barrels, the major diameters of the barrels will be parallel to the raceway and therefore approximately at right angles to the eye 116 of the upper, which edge necessarily extends parallel to the direction of feed and lies in contact with the edge gage 94. The-above-mentioned problem consists in turning the eyelets about-their axes from the position they occupy in the raceway to the position they should occupy when inserted into the work as above explained. I Accordingly, the present invention provides means for turning the eyelets to the required position in the manner about to be described. An outlet passage 122 (Fig.3) is formed at the left-hand side of the delivery end of the raceway, and the barrels of the eyelets pass through this passage incidentally to the removal of the eyelets from the raceway. As the leading eyelet reaches the delivery end it is partially turned by a deflecting surface 124 formed onthe right-hand guiding strip of the raceway. The eyelet, on being deflected and partially turned by the surface 121,-is arrested by a detent'126 so that the said eyelet occupies thefposition shown in Fig. 3 at the momentwhenthe up-w per end 108 of the spindle isinsertedinto it. Even when the eyelet stands in this position it isstill rotatively out of register with the body. portion of the spindle. A detent 126 is carried by the raceway and is maintained in the position shown in Fig. 3 by a compression spring 130. In this position the left-- hand end of the detent 126 obstructs the pas sageway 122 so that the barrel ofthe eyelet cannot pass therethrough without displacing the detent against the pressure of the spring 130.

The incchanisn'i herein described for osc1llating the raceway about the axis 30 and that under control of the raceway. The motions effected by these two mechanisms are such that the delivery end of the raceway stands initially in the position shown in Fig. 3, in which position the eyelet at the delivery end is only partially in register with the tapered portion 108 at the upper end of the spindle body 106. This partial register is sufficient, nevertheless, to enable the tip of the spindle to enter the barrel of the eyelet as the plunger 18 rises. At this stage the upward movement of the plunger 18 is relatively slow, but irrespective of the rate at which it'rises, the spring 112 under the spindle 106 (Fig, 7) will permit the spindle to yield relatively to the member 20 if occasion requires. lVhe'n the tip of the spindle has been inserted into the eyelet, as above explained, the raceway-open ating mechanism effects relatively rapid movement of the delivery end of the raceway toward the right, as indicated by an arrow in Fig. 3, thus removing the raceway from the path of the tool 20. As the raceway describes the motion last specified, the end surface 132 of the left-hand guiding strip of the raceway engages a flat side of the barrel of the eyelet now occupied and im paled by the tip only of the spindle. The tip of the spindle functions at this stage as a pivot about which the eyelet is turned to V the position shown in .Fig. 41 by a wiping action of the surface 132 on the flat of the barrel as the latter is drawn through the outlet passage 122 between the surface 182 and the yielding detent 126. The eyelet is thus turned by the surface 132 into register. with the body 106 of the spindle so that the latter, being now relieved from all. restraint, may be projected through the eyelet by the spring 112 as shown in Fig. 7, in which the detent 126 and the left-hand guiding strip of the race way not only'overlap the flange 118 of the impaled eyelet but also clamp the barrel 120 thereof. Thus the spindle 106 is inserted far enough into the eyelet'to prevent any subsequent turning movement before the eyelet is disengaged from the clamping elen'ients 126 and 132. It is therefore assured that the eyelet, having been turned by the raceway to the desired position, willbe maintained positively in that position by the spindle 106, although the eyelet may thereafter .drop until its flange is seated upon the mem- V ber 20. v Flg. 5 shows the raceway as having completed its motion to the right and shows the impaled eyelet on the spindle 106 as having been wholly disengaged and removed from the raceway. This figure also shows the next succeedin e clot in the racewa as having is y o progressed to the delivery end, as having been deflected and partially turned by the deflecting surface 124 and as having been ar- 2 i rested by the detent 126 which now obstructs the outlet passageway 122.

During the aforesaid operations of the raceway and the eyelet-inserting tool 20, the combined punching and clenchingtool is operated, first, to punch a hole in the work to receive the eyelet, and secondly, to feed the work and there i place the punched hole in register with the tool 20. The tool 70 is thus placed in register with the tool 20 before the latter has risen far enough to insert the eyelet, but the tool 20 continues to rise while the tool 70 remains stationary, thereby inserting the eyelet and clenching it in Well known manner. Thereafter the tool 70 rises and moves to the right preparatory to punch- Having described my invention, what-I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A machine for inserting fasteners having non-circular barrels, comprising 'a fastenerinserting tool, a raceway for supplying such fasteners to said tool, and mechanism for relatively moving said raceway and said tool to transfer a fastener 'tothe latter and to turn the fastener relatively to said tool while the fastener is in contact with and under control of said racewayf v I A machine for inserting fasteners havin g non-circular barrels, comprising fastenerinserting mechanismincluding an inserting tool, a. raceway arranged to present'such a fastener to said tool in a position other than the final position with regard to turning about the axis of the fastener barrel, and means for relatively so moving said raceway and said tool as to turn the presented fastener about said axis to final position before the fastener is disengaged from the raceway;

3. A machine for insertin fasteners having non-circular barrels, comprising a fastoner-msertmg tool, means arranged to'present such a fastener to said tool, andmechanism for relatively moving said means and said tool to transfer the fastener to said tool and simultaneously to turn the fastener relatively to said tool to a predetermined position relatively thereto while the fastener is engaged with and under control of said presenting means.

4. A machine for inserting eyelets having non-circular barrels comprising a raceway, a non-rotary eyelet-inserting tool having a tapered spindle for taking an eyelet from said raceway, said spindle having across-section conforming substantially to the non-circular hole in the eyelet, and mechanism for relatively moving said raceway and said spindle to transfer the eyelet to'sai d spindle. and to turn the eyelet from a non-registering to a registering position while the eyelet is in con tact with and under control of said raceway. 5. A machine for inserting eyelets having to its initial position as shown by Fin. 3. I

non-circular barrels comprising a raceway,

an eyelet-inserting tool having a spindle for taking an eyelet from said raceway, said spindle having a body portion conforming substantially to the non-circular hole in the eyelet and having an entering endthe greatest diameter of which is less than the smallest diameter of said hole, mechanism for moving the delivery end of said raceway to and from register with said entering end of the spindle, and mechanism for moving said spindle into the eyelet at said delivery end, said raceway being formed and arranged to turn the eyelet about said end of the spindle to a pre determined position while said end of the spindle is moving through the eyelet.

6. A machine for inserting eyelets having non-circular barrels comprising a raceway, an eyelet-inserting tool having a spring-pressed spindle for taking such an eyelet from said raceway, said spindle having a tapered end portion and a body portion conforming sub stantially to the non-circular hole in the eyelet, mechanism for relatively moving said spindle and said raceway lengthwise of the spindle far enough to impale the leading eye- 7 l let on said end portion of the spindle, and

mechanism for relatively moving the delivery end of the raceway and said spindle laterally to turn said eyelet about said end portion of the spindle to a predetermined position and to disengage the impaled eyelet from the raceway after said eyelet has been turned as aforesaid.

7. A machine for inserting eyelets having non-circular barrels comprising a raceway, an eyelet-inserting tool having a spring-pressed spindle for taking such an eyelet from sail raceway, said spindle having a tapered end portion and a body portion the cross-section of which conforms substantially to the noncircular hole in the eyelet, mechanism for moving said tool to insert said end portion through an eyelet in said raceway, and mechanism for moving the delivery end of said raceway to and from register with said tool, said two mechanisms being coordinated to cause said raceway to turn said eyelet about said end portion to a predetermined position and to insert said body portion into the eyelet before the latter is disengaged from the raceway.

8. A machine for inserting eyelets having non-circular barrels comprising a raceway having a detent at its delivery end, an eyeletinserting tool having a spindle for picking such an eyelet from said raceway, said spindle having a tapering end portion and a body portion of non-circular cross-section conforming substantially to the non-circular hole in the eyelet, mechanism for moving said tool to insert said end portion of the spindle into an eyelet at the supply side of said detent, and mechanism for moving said delivery end to and from register with said end portion of the spindle, said two mechanisms being coordinated to turn the impaled eyelet about said end portion of the spindle to a predetermined position before said eyelet is freed from said detentandto insert said body portion of the spindle into the eyeletbefore the latter is disengaged frem said raceway.

9. A machine for inserting eyelets having non-circular barrels comprising a raceway having an abrupt turn at its delivery end. to arrest the leading eyelet, an eyelet-inserting tool having a spindle to pick an eyelet from the raceway, said spindle having a tapered end and a body portion of a cross-section co1iforming to the non-circular hole in the eyelet, mechanism for moving said tool to insert said tapered end through an eyelet-at said abrupt turn, and mechanism for retracting the delivery end of said raceway to detach the impaled eyelet therefrom, said two mechanisms being coordinated to turn the impaled eyelet from a non-registering to a registering posit-ion relatively to the cross-section of said body portion and to insert said body portion of the spindle into the eyelet before disengaging said eyelet from the raceway.

10. A machine for inserting fasteners having non-circular barrels comprising a fastener-inserting tool having a spindle adapted to enter the barrel of such a fastener, a race-v way arranged to supply such fasteners to said spindle, mechanismfor operating said tool, and mechanism for operating said raceway, said raceway being formed and operated to turn a fastener on said spindle to a predetermined position and said spindle being formed to maintain the fastener in said preetermined position.

11. A machine for inserting eyelets, the barrels of which have one or more flat sides, comprising a raceway for supplying such fasteners, a fastener-inserting tool having a tapered spindle adapted to pick such an eyelet from said raceway, mechanism for operating said raceway, and mechanism for operating said tool, said raceway being formed and operated to turn an eyelet on said spindle to place a flat side of the eyelet in a predetermined position, and said spindle having one or more flat sides corresponding to those of the eyelet to maintain the specified fiat side of the eyelet barrel in said predetermined position.

12. A machine for inserting eyelets having flat-sided barrels, comprising a raceway having a corner at its delivery end, a fastenerinserting tool having a non-rotatable spindle let, and mechanism for relatively moving fob said tool and said raceway transversely 'of said spindle, said two mechanisms being co ordinated to effect a wiping action of said corner on the eyelet barrel while said end portion of the spindle is in the eyelet to turn the latter into register with said body portion of the spindle and thereafter to insert said body portion into the eyelet before disengaging the latter from the raceway.

13. A machine for inserting eyelets, the barrels of which have a major diameter and a minor diameter at right angles to each other, comprising an eyelet-inserting tool having a tapered spindle formed with a cross-section having a major and a minor diameter, a raceway formed to deliver an eyelet to said spindle in non-registering position with regard to said diameters, and mechanisms for relatively moving said tool and said raceway to transfer the leading eyelet in the raceway from the latter to said spindle, the delivery end of said raceway having a portion formed and arranged to act on the barrel of the eyelet to turn the latter so that its major and minor diameters will register with those of the spindle before the eyelet is disengaged from the raceway.

14. An eyelet-inserting machine comprising means arranged to feed an article of work step by step, an eyelet-inserting tool, a raceway for supplying eyelets having lat-sided barrels to said tool, said raceway being arranged to extend substantially at right angles to the line of work-feeding movement, said tool and said raceway having cooperative surfaces arranged to engage a flat side of each eyelet barrel to turn said fiat side into parallel relation to said lines of work-feeding movement, and mechanisms for relatively moving said tool and said raceway to turn the leading eyelet in the latter as aforesaid and thereafter to detach said eyelet from the raceway. v I

15. A machine for inserting fasteners hav ing barrels elongated in cross section' comprising a raceway arranged to maintain such fasteners with the major diameters of their barrels extending lengthwise of the raceway, a spindle operative to pick the fasteners one by one from the delivery end of the raceway, and means for rotating each fastener about the axis of its barrel as its barrel is entered by the spindle and before it is moved out of the raceway.

16. An eyelet-inserting tool comprising a spindle having a. body portion of elongated cross-section and an entering end of relatively small cross-section offset laterally from the longitudinal median line of said body portion. I

17 A spindle for an eyelet-inserting tool, said spindle having a body portion of elongated crosssection, and a substantially circular entering end offset laterally from the longitudinal median line of said body portion.

18. A spindle for an eyelet-inserting tool, said spindle having a body portion of elongated cross-section, an entering end of relatively small cross-section olfset laterally from the longitudinal median line of said body portion, and a tapering portion extending from said entering end to said body portion.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

SYLVESTER L. GOOKIN. 

